2012 MLB Draft Live Blog

Greetings! I am camped out in front of the tv, watching the awkward MLB Draft pre-game show, with Brewerfan and Twitter tabs ready to go. I might as well start now, right? I mean, half of the fun of this is making fun of the awkwardness and cliches, and there won’t be any more of those things than during the pre-game.

–MLB Network moves to the eight or so draftees in attendance. Unlike the NFL or NBA drafts, these aren’t necessarily the top, top players. Many of the top college players are still playing, for one thing. But it’s feels off when they’re spending an inordinate amount of time on Jim Callis’ no. 49 prospect (Clint Coulter) just because he’s at the draft.

–Rise Against song is the lead-in to the 6:00 show. I remember when they were one of many crappy bands I listened to in high school.

–Underway here. Most expect Houston to take Stanford RHP Mark Appel, although it’s not a lock. Sounds like a lot of teams outside of the top ten are trying still to figure out signability of players.

–Bud making his introductory comments s-l-o-w-l-y. And for some reason, CC Sabathia is in attendance.

–Fairly surprising pick off the bat. Shortstop Carlos Correa is the first pick, going ahead of Houston product Appel.

–Pretty interesting here, as Appel was the projected first pick, and has now literally lost millions of dollars. Through three picks and he still hasn’t been selections.

–Fourth pick, LSU pitcher Kevin Gausman, just said he eats powdered donuts in between innings of his starts. Amazing.

–And Appel continues to fall. Out of the top five now, and there’s a report that Scott Boras is trying to get him to fall to Washington, who has had no issue working with Boras. Pretty unbelievable that he’s still controlling the draft despite the rule change.

–Pittsburgh, of all teams, step up to the plate and take Appel. If they are able to get him signed, which apparently could be a big if, the Pirates have some insane pitching prospects: Jameson Taillon, Gerritt Cole, Mark Appel.

–Slightly disappointed by the lack of unintentional comedy in this draft. Five minutes between picks leaves a lot less time for it than the ten minutes in the NFL draft, I suppose.

–Right on cue, Harold Reynolds says that Billy Beane “bragged about winning his race,” clearly making a Moneyball reference. Except that Billy Beane didn’t brag, because BILLY BEANE DIDN’T WRITE THE BOOK. Amazing how many people still say things like that.

–Well, poop. Oakland took Addison Russell at 11… Much earlier than the Brewers’ pick. Seems like I was way off base in my hope that he lasted to 27.

–Harold Reynolds really seems like he just read Moneyball a year ago. He’s “really surprised” Oakland took a high school player.

–“Addison” is an awful name, anyway. At least there’s that.

–The White Sox select high school outfielder Courtney Hawkins, who shows off his excitement and athleticism by doing a backflip. You know there were about five seconds where all the White Sox fans watching were terrified.

–Up to pick 18 now. Russell is the only guy on the list I made last night who has been selected. Still a while to go, though.

–Corey Seager, yet another high school shortstop, goes 18th. I didn’t mention him yesterday, but I was hearing things about him going to the Brewers today.

–It seems like hitters are going earlier, which means pitchers might very well be BPA when the Brewers pick. Hitters are a bigger need, but they have to take the best player.

–We’re through 20 picks. According to Baseball America, the number 10, 13 and 14-ranked players are still available.

–Joey Gallo and Stephen Piscotty are still available. The Cards are up now at 23, so I’m sure that means they’ll take one. Ugh.

–Huzzah! Gallo and Piscotty survive. On to 24. Still four of my top five (for the Brewers) available.

–Oh my God, the Cards just selected a guy who gets a “Tim Tebow comparison because of his beliefs.” Cue the “doing things the right way” Cardinal fans.

–If you listen to MLBN’s analysts, there hasn’t been a bad pick yet. Everyone picked is “a winning baseball player,” or “not necessarily a 1-2 starter, but a 3-4 guy at worst.” First rounders have about a 50% success rate.

–Devin Marrero, shortstop, goes to Boston. Only Tampa Bay and Arizona to go before two Milwaukee picks.

-Richie Shaffer goes 25. Only one pick to go, which guarantees that one of Gallo and Piscotty will be there. Now, of course, that doesn’t mean the Brewers will take one of them…

–And the Diamondbacks take the terribly named Stryker Trahan, leaving both of “my guys” for the Brewers’ two picks. Odds the Brewers take one of them?

–Catcher Clint Coulter (alliteration) is the pick, not surprising. Shades of Aaron Rodgers as the last guy left in the draft room? Still room for Gallo. Desperately want him.

–Interviewer might as well have asked, “What would it be like to catch the pitchers who will have been off the Brewers for four years by the time you reach the majors?”

–Wouldn’t be upset with pitcher Zach Eflin either. Kind of sold out on Gallo, though.

–That Coulter pick is reminiscent of the Lawrie pick for a lot of reasons (not comparing them as a player, just the pick). Both drafted as catchers with defensive questions, and both were linked to the Brewers well before draft day.

–Good point I just came across: If Coulter is considered more signable, he needed to be drafted at 27. That’s the comp pick, and those aren’t protected. If the Brewers don’t sign pick 28, they get that pick again next year in the first round. They can take a bigger risk here.

–Speaking of risk, they took Victor Roache. He’s got a ton of power, but had a nasty wrist break. Before the injury, he was considered a front half of the first round. Can’t be upset with power hitters. Weren’t the ones I identified, but what the hell does that mean? Nothing. They needed impact bats, so why not?

–I’m about to do it to myself again. Will one of Piscotty, Eflin, or Gallo be around at 38?

–Outfielder Lewis Brinson, another guy associated with the Brewers, goes to Texas at 29.

–As the analysts continue to love every pick without fail, I’ll discuss a little more the guys the Brewers drafted. It seems like both players have elite power, which is something the Brewers are sorely lacking throughout their entire system.

–First round comes to a close, and Joey Gallo, Zach Eflin, Stephen Piscotty are still on the board. Only one minute between picks now, thankfully.

Sandwhich Round… It’s the best kind of round.

–Lance McCullers, ranked 13th on MLBN’s board, is still available. He might not be signable anymore, which is why he’s fallen.

–Jim Callis just said Joey Gallo also throws 98 mph. Whoa.

–Joe Torre announces the comp picks, but not before he gives some superfluous pep talk.

–Clint Coulter: “I don’t think I can do a backflip, but I can do a lot of push-ups.”

–Matt Smoral, an insanely tall high school left-handed pitcher, is also still on the board. He’d be an exciting pick as well.

–Well the Padres just took Eflin. I’m guessing the Brewers really wanted him. Two hitters and a pitcher would be a good balance. Still maybe looking at Smoral.

–According to Jon Hart, the A’s just drafted a “baseball player.”

–Piscotty goes to… The Cardinals. Darn.

–Looks like the Brewers will have their pick between a lot of players I’ve been discussing. Red Sox just selected a pitcher from Monmouth.

–Gallo still available! Is he not signable? Here’s the pick.

–Mitch Haniger? A college outfielder? Sounds like a cheap pick for signability. And the Jeff Francoeur comparison made me nauseous. To top it off, Gallo went to Texas with the very next pick.

–Brewers not going with any flashy names, but they have taken three signable players. I’ll have more on the draft later this week sometime. For now, have a good night.